Kimkim Trip Reviews for India

Overall we had a fantastic time and the help Priya provided was great. We changed our minds a few times and Priya was more than happy to accommodate which we appreciate. A few of the hotels were slightly out of date but that was our only gripe. Driver Gopal was amazing, and all guides provided were good fun and very interesting. Thanks again.

The whole trip throughout South India was very well organised and executed by the Kim Kim team.
Unfortunately, one incident near the end of the trip ruined my final memories and has caused me to cancel future plans to visit North India.
On the last day in Kerala, the driver (Tency) who had been with me constantly since Chennai stopped the vehicle in a deserted industrial area and demanded, in a most threatening way, that I give him the tip (gratuity) immediately.
This behaviour was so 'out of character', that I was most disturbed and, in fact, frightened for my life.
This incident has caused me to review (cancel) my intended trip to North India with Kim Kim.
Ralph Watkins

We were in Delhi and Agra for 6 days. We appreciate having good hotels. We appreciate having all the transportation provided, such as transfers from the airport to the hotel. We most appreciate being about to custom design a tour that was exactly what we wanted rather than having to fit into someone else's agenda.
We love the transportation with the women cab drivers. They are excellent! They inspire confidence. I applaud their bravery.
I enjoyed meeting Anna. She was great!

Very good experience. Bhupendra followed up all my wishes regarding the trip. I'm impressed of the scheduie we ended up with in such a limited travel period. Perfect! He also added the spice course in an indian home - that was one of the highlights of the tour. To experience real life is something I would have wanted for all "exotic" trips, but never would have asked for as part of a tour..

Only one thing that was really bad about this correspondance. I would have preferred to send normal emails. With on site web messages, I had to go to kimkim.com every time and log in. I even had to type my complete email address every time. It does not remember me, and don't allow me to paste a copied email address. Seems as cookies are deleted. At least, make sure that the site remember me.

Priya was very responsive to my questions and guidance. 2 days before we plan to book the trip the floods hit Kerala and we had to significantly change the whole schedule. Priya was very creative and responsive. My wife and I were very pleased with the tour. we were dependent on her recommendations to guide our experience

Overall the planning and booking of the trip was great. I really appreciated how fast the trip came together since I started planning this trip about a week in advance of the start date.

That said, I wish there had been faster communication. It seemed to take about a day to get a response. I sense that if I had been able to jump on a call at some point we could have locked down the tour much more quickly.

Guarav is amazing. He listened to what we wanted and put together a trip that was exactly what we asked for and much more. When any problems arose, he immediately responded and took care of them. He was always available to us. We loved listening to the monks chanting at the Dalai Lama's temple in Dharamshala. We enjoyed the beauty of sunrise over the Ganges in Varanasi. We explored the temples in Bodhgaya and the ruins in Sarnath. It was all the more interesting to hear Guarav speak of his life and the daily lives of the people we saw in this part of India. It was a fascinating adventure.

We had an amazing trip which was organised with such care and attention to detail, in exceeded our expectations! Our driver, all guides and support during the trip were excellent. Everyone was there to ensure we had a lovely time and the trip was running smoothly from logistical point of view. True 5*, VIP experience I can't recommend enough!

Booking the trip was fine, but once I got there I did not receive the services that I booked. So many important details were left out of the itinerary. I wish I could talk about my guide, but I wasn't given one. I was given a non English speaking driver. I can't talk about memorable experiences because I didn't get to enjoy any villages to meet local people and had no one to translate for me. The local tour company couldn't believe I wasn't given a local guide. This was the WORST TOUR I have ever taken. It would have been way better and less expensive to book my own driver. I even paid my entrance fees which were suppose to be included. I would like to see a breakdown of how the $1900 is dollars was spent. In my opinion, I did not receive the services that I paid for. This should be an embarrassment to your company @

Bhupendra organised a wonderful and very memorable trip. I would recommend Kimkim to anyone organising a trip. India is a thriving, colourful, interesting place to visit. The people are friendly and helpful. There were 4 of us travelling and we had our own drivers for the whole trip. They were local to the area we travelled in and had a good knowledge of the towns we went to. They were able to make recommendations about what each town was best known for, that is jewellery, textiles etc. They also made sure we had bottled water every day. They were great. Our guides were local to each town we visited so had a very good knowledge of the history, the culture, local markets and bazaars and could recommend restaurants if we wanted to go to one. Would recommend going to Kerala. We stayed at the Fragrant Nature Hotel in Munnar, stunning views, great service, very well appointed rooms. We went to the spice and tea plantations in Munnar and had a wonderful hot oil massage there. Would also recommend the Houseboats in Allepey and the walk around the Jewish quarter. Would also recommend the Kathakali traditional Indian dance.
In Jaipur we went to the Harsoli Haveli Heritage Hotel run by a local family and did a cooking class. Thoroughly enjoyed. Would also recommend the hot air balloon ride, Fort Amer, The Solar Observatory. Other places we visited and would recommend are Pushkar, Jodhpur, Udiapur- The Taj Lake Palace: not cheap but worth staying there, Ranthambhore- went to the National park to see tigers, leopards and other wildlife, Agra-Taj Mahal and Varanasi- the spiritual place of Hinduism. All worth visiting. Enjoyed the trip so much talking about going back to visit other areas of India.

Everything was excellent, from the drivers to the guides to the welcoming reps at every place. Especially wanted to thank Mr. Sahil Singh in Amnitsar for his excellent services as a guide. He was patient and knowledgeable of the places and culture of his city. Made every effort to make us feel welcomed and comfortable. Every guide and driver was good, but Mr. Sahil went the extra mile. As a whole this was an excellent trip to an amazing destination. Every place was very special, and it is very difficult to select the most memorable. If I had to mention a few, I would select The Golden Temple, Udaipur, Agra Fort, Jaipur, and obviously the Taj.

I was quite exacting in my trip planning and Bhupendra was with me all the way in the planning process. I asked for something specific and he made it happen and was checking in with me along the way. The places I went and the places I stayed were as expected, and I always had at least one person responsible for my well being at all times. I can't ask for much more than that.

That being said, know what you're getting into with a trip to India. Guides tend to have a bit of a routine with the tourists. Including showing you the designated landmark of the day, but also taking you to the shops and restaurants where they have an "arrangement" with the owners. Or riding in their friend's rickshaw. These are not bad places, but it's difficult to get anything you might call authentic when you are doing this. Unfortunately I got the impression that I was either going to be in the standard segregated tourist experience or that I was going to be really far off the beaten trail, perhaps to the point of feeling uncomfortable or unsafe. With no possibility for anything in the middle. The tipping culture is also very unsubtle and in your face. This is just the reality of tourism there right now.

I had the most relaxing time outside the big cities. On safari looking for tigers was so pleasant in February. As was looking for birds in Bharatpur; that was one of my favorites and both my guide and driver went walking with me.

As an aside for kimkim, I was given no indication whatsoever as to when my payments for my trip were due. Accepting payment is about 50% of its purpose so I'd expect better. I also was conversing with someone different from my assigned "local specialist" 100% of the time. So perhaps make the assignment for a company instead of a person.

Overall this was an intense, exciting, overwhelming, exhausting experience. I got what I wanted and I suggest you be sure what you want before planning your trip.

Our trip to India was amazing! Everyone was very happy about everything, from accommodation, to transportation, guides, and activities.
Prashant was a really good guide in Goa and easy to get along with. Especially when everyone loves nature, as we hiked for a bit. The 2 others guides in goa were great as well (I unfortunately can’t remember their exact names.. :/ )
In Kerala, our driver Dileep was really great. He drove (frankly!) but carefully. And brought us to any places we wanted to go to, from temples sightseeing to shopping and eating in local places. He was very flexible with schedule and always was trying to please us. Thumbs up!
There was just a little confusion and misunderstanding in some part of the itinerary for the Kerala houseboat. But it all turned out well at the end.

Overall, it was a great trip and it seems impossible to choose a favorite place.

Thanks!

All of our guides were amazing! Our Delhi guide was excellent! He spent a great deal of time waiting with us for late trains and delayed flights! The person who overlooked our stay in Ranthambore was very continentious and checked on us daily! Our safari guide was great too!
The hotel was not the greatest! The staff, except in reception were awesome and so friendly! Hotel needs some updating! Wi go only in lobby, no hairdryers or irons! Did see a tiger 🐅 due to great guide. They all spoke good English!
Thank you! We would use Kim Kim again!!

We loved Elephant Pass yoga retreat! The yoga, people, food were incredible. Wonderful adventure. Samon was excellent tour guide in Kerala/Cochin. He was always on time, spoke English well and took us to a beautiful shop. We met many kind people on the houseboat. Everything was perfect, making for a great first impression of India. Thank you.